Three former
University of Colorado football players began the 2012 NFL season under the
lights on "Primetime" last week. The season kicked off in a way it never had
before, playing the first game on a Wednesday night in order to avoid
programing conflicts with the Democratic National Convention. The last time an
NFL game was played on a Wednesday was Sept. 22, 1948.

It didn't matter
what day of the week it was for the Dallas Cowboys though, who defeated the
defending Super Bowl champions, New York Giants, 24-17. Former Colorado
fullback, Lawrence Vickers, paved
the way for Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray, who rushed for 131 yards on 20
carries.

Vickers enters his
seventh season in the league, and first with Dallas, after being drafted by the
Cleveland Browns in the sixth round (180th pick overall) of the 2006
NFL Draft. After five seasons with the Browns, Vickers played the 2011 season
with the Houston Texans before arriving in Dallas.

Vickers, a native
of Beaumont, Texas (290 miles south of Dallas), will look to build on his
reputation of being one of the toughest fullbacks in the National Football
League by bull-dozing defenders all season for Murray and the Cowboys as they
try to keep their dominate running attack going all the way to the playoffs.

The nation's eye
turned to football again on Sunday night to watch Peyton Manning make his return
to football and debut as a Denver Bronco. Manning quickly returned to vintage
form, throwing for 253 yards and two touchdowns to lead Denver to a 31-19
victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Although Manning
may have stolen the headlines, he was not the only Bronco making a return to
the game in Denver. Former Buff defensive tackle, Justin Bannan, played for Denver in 2010 before spending the 2011
season with the St. Louis Rams. Sunday night, he made his return back to Denver as the Broncos starting defensive tackle.

Bannan and the rest
of the Broncos D-Line put the pressure on Ben Roethlisberger all night. Early
in the fourth quarter after a Pittsburgh touchdown, the Steelers decided to go
for the two-point conversion which resulted in Bannan knocking the pass down
incomplete. Denver would score on the next possession, convert their two-point
play, and never relinquish the lead. Bannan is in his 11th season in
the NFL having recorded 271 tackles, six sacks, and making 58 starts.

Finally, it was
time for Monday Night Football and yet another opportunity for a Colorado
Buffalo to appear on football's biggest stage. The Baltimore Ravens and former CU
cornerback Jimmy Smith, played host
to the Cincinnati Bengals, winning 44-13. Smith plays a part of one of the most
feared defenses in the NFL which ranked in the top five of all defensive statistical
categories in 2011. Baltimore drafted Smith with the 26th overall
pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, and as a rookie, Smith recorded 20 tackles and two
interceptions while playing in 12 games.

Notable:
In only his
second season, Nate Solder made his
17th career start for New England and now protects Tom Brady's blind
side... Tyler Polumbus made his 22nd
career start on Sunday, blocking for Washington's Robert Griffin III which
allowed the first-year quarterback to set rookie records... Ryan Miller played in his first career NFL game Sunday after being
drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the fifth round of the 2012 NFL Draft.